Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

A magazine wants to include contributions from its readers for an article called 'The book that influenced me most'.

Write a letter to the editor of the magazine about the book that influenced you most. In your letter

- describe what this book was about
- explain how this book influenced you
- say whether this book would be likely to influence other people

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I am so exicted to share my review on your book 'Rich Dad and Poor Dad' which is motivated to me alot. It is my all time favourite book. After reading this, I becomes big fan of you and your way of writing and thinking.

Actually, I saw an advertisement about this book on social media. This book is basically on the thinking nature of poor and rich person. It provides the ideas for doing smart work To become rich and earn more.

Moreover, this book puts deep impact in my life. I clearly remember that i was very disapointed for my buisness as it was in lose. But after reading this book, i got number of ideas which implemented in my buisness and got sucess.

This book also motivate to others who want be sucessful in their life. It is treasure of buisness ideas. i am giving ten out of ten to this book.

your Sincerly,

Arshdeep Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, meeting the requirement to describe what the book was about, explain how it influenced the writer, and state whether it would influence others. However, the development of these ideas is uneven. While the description of the book's content regarding the thinking habits of rich and poor people is relevant, the explanation of its influence remains somewhat limited and under-developed, relying on brief assertions rather than thorough elaboration. The tone is appropriate for a magazine contribution, and the key bullet points are successfully covered, placing the response solidly in the middle band for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a clear overall arrangement with information presented in a logical sequence, moving from an introduction of the book to its contents, personal impact, and final recommendation. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the letter. Cohesive devices are evident, though some referencing and linking are a bit mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'this book'. To bridge the gap towards higher bands, the writer would benefit from more varied and flexible cohesive ties and smoother transitions between sentences and paragraphs, ensuring that the flow is entirely natural and unobtrusive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate to communicate the basic message, but it shows a limited range with noticeable inadequacies in word choice and spelling. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'treasure', but makes frequent errors in word form and collocation, including 'exicted' instead of 'excited', 'motivated to me alot', 'disapointed', 'buisness', 'lose' instead of 'loss', and 'sucess'. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score, as the range remains basic and repetitive with spelling mistakes that cause some difficulty for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that surface throughout the text, such as missing articles, incorrect verb forms ('I becomes', 'which implemented', 'motivate to others'), and prepositions inside grammatical patterns. While the meaning remains mostly clear despite these slips, the heavy reliance on faulty complex structures and persistent errors place this text in the lower range, requiring greater control over basic grammatical agreements and tense consistency.

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